Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad during a press conference at AICC headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday. (Press Trust of India photo)
With the CBI and Enforcement Directorate raiding Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's Delhi and Shimla houses, Congress today said "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hate agenda against Congress reached its zenith".
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, in a statement said his party "stoutly and strongly deprecates, abhors and condemns the politics of revenge and vendetta unleashed by Modi" and the BJP government was "converting CBI as a BJP's investigation bureau against political opponents".
"These fascist tendencies are the very antithesis of healthy democracy which Congress party stands for. Our resolve to fight the dictatorial, autocratic and vendetta-driven politics of Narendra Modi and his ilk only becomes stronger and more resolute by such lowly acts of partisan political vendetta," Mr Azad said.
Stating that there was nothing new in the allegations made against Mr Virbhadra Singh, Mr Azad, the leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, said the same unsubstantiated allegations regarding his (Virbhadra Singh) income tax returns were raised by the BJP during the 2012 assembly elections to tarnish his image and spoil the prospects of the Congress party winning the elections.
"Much hype was created about these allegations and a malicious propaganda was launched by the BJP. However, the people of the state saw through the plans of the BJP and returned Congress party to power with a thumping majority," he added.
He said it was being done to divert public attention from issues of corruption and BJP leaders' impropriety in Modigate, Vyapam scam, Chhattisgarh PDS and bank scams, Rajasthan mining scam, Maharashtra chikki and tender scams, fake degrees scam and many other cases.
He said Mr Virbhadra Singh had already submitted his income tax details to the authorities and the matter was being looked into by the income tax authorities at various levels.
The matter of his agricultural income was pending adjudication with the income tax appellate tribunal, he said.
Mr Azad said the issue of jurisdiction to conduct income tax inquiries into alleged money laundering went to the Himachal Pradesh High Court and was finally pending before the Supreme Court.
"Will Prime Minister answer as to why he did not register a case and conduct raids on his Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and others involved in Modigate scam?" Mr Azad asked.